The Kentucky Cure

by Julieann Dove

  “Mom, we have careers. It’s hard to cook a meal after working a nine- to twelve-hour day. Now, say what you want to eat, and I can call for delivery.”

  “I’m fine. I ate on the plane. I’ll wait to eat breakfast tomorrow morning. That is if you have anything. If not, I’ll just call a car to take me to the nearest place that serves crepes and fresh fruit.”

  Elise guarded Darren as he made his way to the sofa. She took his crutches and lowered him on the sofa, tucking a few pillows underneath him. She continued helping, by preparing his plate of take-out misery, according to Jane Masterson. Yeah, sure she looked full from the plane food. Drool was pooling at the sides of her puckered lips, as Elise transferred the fajita to the plate for Darren.

  “Honey, I’m going to retire for the night. I’m tired from the flight. I’ll see you in the morning.” She kissed the top of his head and looked at Elise. “I don’t know if you leave before I wake up or not. But goodnight, Elise. I’ll see you when I see you.”

  Microscopic daggers flashed in Jane’s eyes. Elise was certain she had seen her somewhere before. Yes, that was it! It was on the Discovery Channel. The episode titled, “How Mothers Hover over their Grown Men Sons and Devour their Potential Mates.” She was sure it was not going to be a happy time with her staying in the same house.

  “Don’t say it.” Darren seemed to know what was on Elise’s mind as she picked at the cheese and beef combination on her plate. “I didn’t know she was coming, I promise. And I’ll see that she leaves just as soon as she’s convinced I’m all right.” He kept his voice low, just in case she rode her broomstick out to the living room, again.

  “That will be when I quit my job to stay with you for twenty-four-hour shifts. Is she that old-fashioned?”

  “I’m afraid so. She is in charge of a staff at home that waits on Dad left and right.”

  “It’s nice to know she’s a good delegator. I’d hate for her to break a sweat and do something for him herself.” She stopped prematurely at what she really wanted to say about his mother. Knowing that was the woman she would have to look at during the next years of her life was a major game changer for Elise. The list for cons about her relationship with Darren were beginning to stack up. Jane Masterson counted for, at least, a hundred of them.

  They finished their meal with the unsavory taste of the new house guest just steps away. Elise cleaned up the dishes and retired to the bedroom for her shower. Darren finished watching a movie before she came out to take him back to the room.

  “I wouldn’t mind taking another shower, if you’re up to it,” he said to her.

  She adjusted her robe and went to close the door to the room. Darren balanced on one leg as he took his shirt off. Elise pulled his shorts off and helped him to the shower. He sensuously kissed her as they waited for the water to get warm.

  “Any chance we could—”

  “None.” She cut him off before the image could make it to his mind. There was no way anything was going down with his mother under the same roof. Maybe even while she was on the same continent. Elise felt some guilt over last night’s session with him. And it wasn’t just the acrobatics she had to perform, either. Ben’s face tried to squeeze into every open moment she had at work that day. Their time together was obviously not as finished as she figured it to be.

  Darren finished his shower and was settled in bed. A glass of tea was calling Elise’s name from the refrigerator. The salty tacos had managed to strip her mouth dry. She slipped on her robe and walked to the door to leave.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m thirsty. Can I bring you something?”

  “No, I’m fine. The less I drink, the less I have to get up and go to the bathroom.” Darren tried to situate himself. That cast was getting in everyone’s way.

  Elise turned on the kitchen light and went to get out her tea. She stopped short when she heard Jane run into the barstool.

  “Damn stool. Who puts a stool in the middle of the floor, anyway?” She bent over, holding her bruised toe. Elise noted the red robe she was wearing. Didn’t the devil wear red, too?

  “Hello. I was just getting something to drink. Would you like anything?”

  “It depends. Is there any bottled spring water in there? I’ll drink domestic if he has nothing else.”

  Elise wasn’t sure the woman could be nice even if she tried. Maybe she missed the entire two years in her childhood it took to fully develop tact.

  “Sure.” She grabbed a bottle of plain distilled water and handed it to her.

  “Sit down with me. I’d like to talk a moment.” The ill-mannered woman hopped on a stool and patted the one beside her.

  The very last thing, next to root canals and eye splinters, that Elise wanted to do in life. She forced a tiny smile and took a seat next to the human vulture.

  “So, I understand you’ve been dating Darren for a year?”

  “Almost. I think it’s more like nine months.” And eight days, four hours, and twenty-three minutes. But who’s counting? Elise gulped her tea.

  Jane’s smile dropped back to a solid stare without any fangs showing. “Well, are you living here with him? He never tells me anything anymore.”

  Elise wondered why. The woman was the portrait of all things maternal and disturbing. Maybe she would get along famously with Lyla Newton. They could stand over the cauldron together and conjure up spells to make Elise spontaneously feel fork prongs in her torso.

  “I’m not living here. I’m just staying with him to help him until he gets better.”

  Relief softened the woman’s starched lips. “That’s good. I don’t believe in co-habitation. Are you looking for him to ask you to marry him? Is that something you want?” Beating around what bush? Were there no bushes in this lady’s yard? Forward, direct, and right through to Elise’s hyperventilating heart.

  “I’m not ready to get married.”

  “What? How old are you, anyway? Isn’t that what every girl wants? Find a handsome young doctor, get married, and have children? What’s wrong with you? Surely he’s a catch on so many levels.”

  All right, polite and polished gloves off. This woman was going to be taught a lesson in how to behave like a human being.

  “There is nothing wrong with me, Mrs. Masterson. I don’t particularly subscribe to the notion of marriage. And I’m certainly not ready for any children.”

  They both stopped as they saw a large shadow on the wall behind the kitchen partition. Darren had managed to make it out to the kitchen by himself.

  “Mother, what are you doing to Elise?”

  “I’m not doing anything to her. I’m simply asking about her intentions toward my only son.” Defense shield up. Mama bear mode engaged.

  “I think you’re finished. I don’t need any help in communicating with my girlfriend. And when there’s any noteworthy news, I will call and tell you. Until then, stop with the interrogation.”

  Jane got up, refused to look at Elise, and disappeared back to her room. Elise sat with the notion of feeling what a patient looked like right after a lobotomy. If that wasn’t her conscience speaking louder than the small voice in her brain, she didn’t know what was. How much did Darren hear?

  “Come on, Elise. Let’s go to bed.”

  She quietly got up and walked behind him. He dropped his crutches to the ground and hopped to the edge of the bed, lowering himself until he bounced from the springs of the mattress. Elise put her shoulder under him, pulling him higher to the headboard.

  “I’m sorry about that. Are you going to be leaving in the morning and never returning?” Sympathy followed his rhetorical question.

  “She’s just your mother asking, what I suppose, mothers ask.”

  “Or maybe what the son is too chicken to ask. For real.” Her lip should have had a hole in it by now, seeing how many times her teeth sunk down into it. She moved to her side of the bed, wanting nothing more than hours of unconsciousness to overtake her...and him.

  “Elise, I heard w
hat you told Mom.”

  Was it too soon to fall over in bed and start snoring? Too unbelievable? She didn’t take the bait and ask what he had heard.

  “Are you ever going to want to get married and have children? With me? I know you know how I feel about you, how that’s my plan for us, but I want you to commit to me. I need to hear you say that’s what you want. Before you left for Kentucky, I felt we were on our way toward matrimony, or at the very least, living together. You told me you loved me. Hell, you even hinted that we’d do something wild in Vegas. What’s changed? Did me getting hurt scare you?”

  Turning around and looking at him was not something that was going to be easy. Sign language through a tinted glass wouldn’t have done, either. Whatever way she looked at it, the fact that she wasn’t ready to marry him would have to be conveyed. And children were not people she had ever imagined in the back seat of their car. Going home had changed her. It convinced her she was not in love with Darren. Not the love someone should feel when they say vows to one another.

  “Darren, it did scare me when they called and said you were hurt. I never want anything bad to happen to you. You are someone very special to me.” She stood up from the bed. Flight was easier when the wings were in gear. “I don’t see children in my future. I guess it has something to do with how I was un-maternally raised, myself. Naturally, some might try to correct the mistake of feeling unwanted and have a child to smother with love. But I’m not one of them. I don’t want the responsibility of someone depending on me for life. I can’t even manage to make you dinner during your recovery.”

  “Don’t let my mother’s comments get to you, Elise. You are a wonderful caregiver. A child would be lucky to have you for its mother.”

  The smell of ammonia tickled her nose, signaling a melt-down. Was she PMS-ing? What was with all the tears? Couldn’t she just have a breakup moment without crying?

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Darren.” She went back around to his side and sat down next to him. “I think I need to leave.”

  “I don’t want you to leave.” He held tight to her hand. “I can’t keep dragging this out. I thought I was ready to commit to you, but I’m not. And you deserve to be with someone who sees forever with you. All I see is tomorrow. I’m genetically challenged to see any farther. And I won’t bring my dysfunction to your future. It’s not fair to you. Besides, I think Stacy’s waiting for me to dissolve with water.”

  “What?” he asked, genuinely clueless.

  “Darren, you must know she has the extreme hots for you. Why else would she volunteer to take care of you today? There was no mix-up. The girl’s crazy about you. More importantly, your mother seemed not to devour her today when they sat nestled together before I arrived.”

  “Elise.” She knew he wanted to say more. But there was nothing more to say. He couldn’t make her change the fingerprint of non-committal printed inside her. It would never grow to be any more than what it was. And for him, it just wasn’t enough.

  She kissed him on the lips and held back the sadness that was coming at warp speed to the surface. “I do love you, Darren Masterson. You’ve been too good to me. And it’s my wish that someone is better to you.”

  He watched as she gathered her clothes and zipped her case. She went in the bathroom to change. Looking around for the last time, she touched his cologne on the vanity. He would have made a wonderful husband if her heart wasn’t already spoken for.

  Christmas was only three weeks away. Elise had finished her shopping early. What with all the extra time she had these days, it was easy to do. She pulled into her driveway and walked to her mailbox. A large red envelope with the most beautiful gold cursive handwriting was addressed with her name. She opened it on the way to her front door.

  ‘Just a gift from your dad. I know he would have wanted you to have something to ease your adult life. Enjoy it, and visit when you come home.’

  It was return addressed from Diane. Inside was a cashier’s check for five hundred thousand dollars. It turned out that her dad was a shrewd investor. Elise screamed with excitement. What would she do with all that money? She plopped down on her sofa and felt the urge to call someone with the news. Ben was the first person she thought of, but after not speaking with him for the last six months, she knew the next best would be her sister, Melanie.

  Melanie would be happy for her. She had told her about her visit with Diane and all the calls they made to each other in the past months. It was nice having a mother figure to call, especially after her breakup with Darren. Diane was as supportive as her own mother should have been. It had been six months since she had last seen or talked to Lyla, too. In a couple moments of weakness, she almost rang her number. Thankfully, she worked through them and didn’t.

  Melanie picked up on the second ring. “I can’t believe you called. I was just about to dial your number.” Her voice shook with excitement of its own.

  “Why? What’s up?”

  “You won’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I’m freaking out, completely.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense, Mel. Tell me.” She would have shaken it out of her if she was standing close enough to her.

  “I’m pregnant!! Can you believe it?”

  “Oh, shit. What? Are you kidding? How? When?”

  “Well, I’m about three months and I think you know the how.”

  Elise sat back, feeling a pang of jealousy. Her own biological clock was on strike. It hadn’t talked to her either, in the last six months. Her house was empty. No kids, no husband, not even dinner. She was too lazy to pick up something on the way home. Cereal and milk had become her companions for the night. And Melanie? Two children, one on the way, and a second chance, or first, at love. Elise was suddenly empty of good news. Money couldn’t buy any of what her sister had.

  “That’s incredible news, Melanie. I’m so happy for you.”

  “What about you? Why did you call? It must be something good. We just talked two days ago.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” Somehow the news of currency paled in comparison to a newly discovered fetal heartbeat.

  “Tell me, Elise,” her sister begged.

  “It’s nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I’m mailing your presents tomorrow. Look for them in the mail. I want the kids to have them under the tree to taunt their little imaginations.”

  “Aren’t you coming home?”

  “No. I’m staying here for the holidays. I’d have no one to water my tree if I left.”

  “You got a tree?” Her sister knew better. “Like a tree outside that can be watered with rain, or what?”

  Elise looked at the half-dead fern on the plant stand by the kitchen window. “Yes, I got a tree, an inside tree of sorts. It’s a gorgeous lemon tree. I’ll send you a few when they’re done doing whatever it is they do.”

  “Okay, But now that you’re not with Darren, I just figured you’d come home. At least to see the kids and not be lonely during the holidays.”

  “Maybe next year. And then I can meet little what’s his or her name. Is Jacob excited?”

  “Over the moon. I think he might ask me to marry him.” That would be the icing everyone was talking about these days. Kelly was finally pregnant too, and even Janine’s fiancé had proposed to her over Thanksgiving. She would hide all the Bride magazine pictures when Elise walked past her desk. No one was lonelier than Elise Newton. Not even Lyla Newton. Melanie had told her that Frank was staying over more often than not these days.

  “I’m so happy for you. Hey, I’ve got to go. The timer just went off on my dinner. I’ll get those gifts in the mail tomorrow.”

  Wishing the dinner buzzer had gone off, Elise took a bowl from the cabinet and sat down at the table with her Lucky Charms cereal. She propped the check up on the milk container and looked at all the zeros on it. Nothing had changed in her life for a while. And she wanted to do something about it. Being the single lady with cats was not how she wanted to spend her golden years. H
eck, her thirties weren’t even over yet.

  The next morning, she felt a little more settled than usual. Janine tucked the latest styles of wedding cakes under her planner and went to get Elise a cup of coffee. Elise breezed by her and sauntered into her office. The computer screen lit in front of her eyes, and she waited to formulate the right words. With fingers poised, she typed the following message: ‘It is with extreme humility that I ask you to please accept my resignation...’

  She finished it up and sent it to the printer. Janine grabbed it on her way in with coffee. Her eyes bulged as she silently read it.

  “Miss Newton, is this yours?” Her other hand shook the coffee cup, the brown liquid nearly cascading down the sides.

  “Yes, Janine. I’m moving.” Her tone was defiant with a little bit of ‘made-up-my-mind.’

  “Ma’am, where are you moving to?” Janine set the coffee down and fell to one of the chairs parked in front of Elise’s desk.

  “I’m not sure, but last night someone gave me the incentive to do something different with my life. I’m going to take them up on it and fly away. I have finished all the reports I was in charge of and with it being Christmas and everyone taking leave, it’s the best time to leave myself. My last day will be Friday, Janine.”

  Janine looked down. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll deliver it to personnel right away.”

  Elise got through the rest of the week with only two boxes of tissues for Janine and one for herself. She left Janine with her personal address, that was probably subject to change, for a wedding invitation. The one box of her things from the office sat in the backseat of her car for a week. With only two weeks to Christmas, Elise felt the cloud of abandonment follow her wherever she went. The city was packed with out-of-town visitors and rude last-minute shoppers. Where was the closest pasture with horses hanging around?

  Pictures of hundreds of farms hung in her mind. It would be so nice to ride a horse again and feel the openness of land. So what if it didn’t come with a Ben Hudson. She could just enjoy the scenery and the memories in her mind, of days long ago and missed opportunities. Two to be precise.